It has been several years since the City Comptroller’s Office last conducted a survey of maintenance workers’ duties, but Local 237 President Carl Haynes’ persistent lobbying finally paid off last month when Comptroller Thompson agreed to begin work on the first of at least three new surveys.

Representing the union at the first survey, conducted Feb. 15, were Deputy Director Prevailing Wage Division Donald Arnold and Trustee Ruben Torres, who joined representatives from the comptroller’s office assigned to investigate jobs performed by maintenance workers, who, the union insists, do much more than their job description spells out, including such out-of-title tasks as plumbing, electrical work and masonry. Therefore, the union seeks higher wages for the title under the New York State Prevailing Wage Law, which ensures that workers doing public works be paid the same wage rate that prevails in the trade where the public work is being done.

From left, Maintenance Workers Carlos Garcia, Robert Donnelly and Charles McGinniss gather for a briefing at Frederick Douglass Houses.

The first of three surveys was initiated in response to a prevailing wage complaint filed by the union on behalf of maintenance workers, and took place at Frederick Douglass Houses in upper Manhattan, where a small group gathered for a tour of the facilities. “We’re here to see typical tasks and hand out survey forms,” said Wasyl Kinach, lead investigator from the comptroller’s office. Kinach explained that the comptroller’s office needs to “find an equivalent,” or similar job description and pay scale out in the private sector before determining a prevailing wage for NYCHA and citywide maintenance workers.

During the survey, Associate Supervisor Paul Tortorelli noted that workers typically respond to daily oral and written orders, with some exceptions. “We will not go into an apartment without a work ticket,” Tortorelli said. He added that “gas leaks are priority and a major repair” done by maintenance workers, who also break walls to locate plumbing leaks, which constitutes a major repair.

On the day of the survey, seven maintenance workers were on duty at Frederick Douglass, which includes 19 buildings. As part of the tour, Maintenance Worker Carlos Garcia led the group to an apartment with a leak problem. Garcia asked the tenant for permission to come in and break open the bedroom wall to locate the leak. She was upset at first, but he persuaded her to cooperate and was joined by Maintenance Worker Roy Lang Jr. who hammered through the wall and sheetrock until they found the dripping pipe.

Breaking through the wall was just the beginning of a complex repair job, which NYCHA often pressures workers to rush through. The agency maintains that such a project is typical maintenance work, but in private industry the same job would require a plumber.

The comptroller’s surveys will provide critical information to help set fair wages for maintenance workers. But “It will be a long battle,” warns Deputy Director Arnold, who expects city agencies to continue arguing that most maintenance work is “minor.”